When Nadine came to see us, she had very limited eating ability and was very cautious about giving out a full smile to anyone. It had been about 6 to 8 years since she had seen a dentist and while, she is a positive person, who still believes in the good that her life has to offer, her teeth were starting to take a toll.

She was smiling less and was also becoming less emotionally responsive to people, in an effort to ‘cover up’ her poor teeth. She was relegated to eating only soft food and while she knew her teeth were bad, every time she would get ahead in the hopes of getting it taken care of, there would be another setback. Her friend, Jessica, paired with her landlady to nominate her for the 2015 Christmas Patient Giveaway because they could see the positive spirit and pure joy that was hidden underneath the lack of a smile. They both truly believed that this smile makeover would make a difference for Nadine.

After several appointments through the first half of 2016, Nadine’s smile is brand new! She needed to have some teeth removed but after restoring additional teeth, Dr. Dowden made her upper and lower partials, which filled in the gaps of where she was missing teeth.

When talking with Nadine since her dental work it is impossible to not notice a difference in her. She is quick to smile and it seems as though her entire face lights up when she does! It is a beautiful smile and it’s easy to see how this is positively impacting her confidence and ability to communicate with others. She is also enjoying foods that she hasn’t eaten in years and likes that she can go out to eat without worrying about whether or not she’ll be able to eat her meal.

Nadine was blown away by even being nominated for this and she is beyond grateful and thankful to Jessica, her landlady and everyone at Grand Avenue Dental Care for this amazing, life-changing gift!